Jeffrey A. Thompson's profile

Very bleak, August 3, 2010

It is an upbeat movie for a post-apocalyptic tale where there is no food except can goods and grains (which are increasingly harder to find) and other humans. I haven't read the book, but it must be the prose that makes the book great. The movie sets the tone flawlessly. The sets are great. The atmosphere is gloomy. Everything is pretty much shades of gray. Viggo does a great job. Charlize Theron is very good. The boy is good. He is a little too cherubic for starving to death, but he is good. Robert Duvall has a bit part and he is great. The relationship between the boy and father seems real.

My only criticism was the plot. You never know what happened to world that caused… Read more

A very brief guide., July 22, 2010

McDermott gives a very succinct and a very readable chapter on each of the lives and theologies of eleven great theologians: Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, Augustine, Calvin, Edwards, Schleiermacher, Newman, Barth and Von Balthasar. Each chapter starts with a biographical sketch. It then covers the major themes of thought of the theologian. Third, the chapter covers the distinctive theme for that theologian. The rest of the chapter has a section on what we can learn from the theologian, a short selection from one of the works of the theologian, a few discussion questions and finally some recommended readings.

McDermott's writing is easy to read and is very enthusiastic about… Read more

A very readable survey of Church History, July 6, 2010

This volume skillfully covers the growth of Christianity from the time of the apostles to the birth of the Reformation. He covers all branches of Christianity. He focuses on key individuals and the development of theological concepts. He does of masterful job of interweaving all the threads of the narrative to keep the story interesting. He explains the theological controversies simply, but accurately. He points out the corruption, but always brings up the individuals who tried to bring reform to the Church. He does a good job of not showing partiality to any particular branch of Christianity. The most interesting section to me was the growth of Christianity in Latin America. I knew some… Read more